Some commercial aircraft known as "combis" carry both passengers and cargo on the main deck. Typically the passengers and cargo are separated by a partition which divides the interior of the aircraft into a forward passenger compartment and an aft cargo compartment.
In the event of fire in the cargo compartment, it is desirable to prevent air from entering the cargo compartment or smoke from entering the passenger compartment. In order to accomplish this, the partition between the cargo and passenger compartments is made nearly airtight. However, the possibility of rapid decompression of the aircraft passenger or cargo compartments requires some means for equalizing the pressure differential between these compartments so as to prevent structural damage to the dividing partition.
Conventionally, a number of explosive decompression panels have been disclosed for relieving a pressure differential across a wall. Typically, when the pressure differential is sufficiently large, these conventional panels either break or are ejected thereby allowing a rapid equalization of pressure. Common problems associated with these conventional decompression panels include the fact that they are not reuseable and they do not provide a simple mechanism for adjusting the pressure at which panel "blowout" occurs.